Missouri sinkhole area called 'very dangerous' to public

Cape Girardeau's public works director Tim Gramling said two sinkholes on South Sprigg Street, near LaCroix Creek, continue to grow. A sinkhole in the creek is causing water to flood into the nearby Buzzi Unicem quarry. Gramling said as the waters of the Mississippi River rose to above flood stage for the second time this spring, the problem worsened. He said one of the sinkholes on South Sprigg Street is about 50 feet in diameter and about 15 feet deep. A second sinkhole near the end of the bridge over the creek is 20 to 25 feet in diameter and is roughly 6 to 8 feet deep. "And it's growing as we're talking," he said. Gramling attempted to explain why the problem, which has closed a portion of South Sprigg Street indefinitely, developed. The water erodes the soil, causing more sinkholes. Gramling said employees from Buzzi Unicem are working to address the creek sinkhole. He said the company is damming the creek by the bridge, attempting to isolate the water and keep down the flow into the quarry. "They're not shut down, but they're trying their best to keep the water down," he said. City employees are monitoring the creek bridge. "It hasn't been affected," Gramling said. "We keep an eye on it." The city and Buzzi Unicem have attempted in the past to fill the sinkholes with rock and concrete, to no avail. "You can put stuff in them and it just disappears and we've done that for several years," Gramling said. "If we filled the holes up, by tomorrow [the fill] would be gone."

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